Photo by Gene Schiavone
Opera Naples presented Verdi’s grand opera, Aida, from December 19-21, 2018. Award-winning Stage Director “[Chuck] Hudson’s dramatic values were clean and amazingly physical” (Naples Daily News). Located at Artis-Naples Hayes Hall, Maestro and Artistic Director Ramón Tebar conducted a 100 member chorus and the Naples Philharmonic in this fully-staged epic.
Steven Pisano Photography for American Opera Projects
As part of the 2018 BAM Next Wave Festival, Savage Winter had its NY premiere on November 7, 2018. The new work is a re-imagining of Winterreise, with music by Douglas J. Cuomo and directed by Jonathan Moore. The set design, by Brandon McNeel, is “highly realistic, a naturalistic canvas to which [Joseph Seamans, Video] adds psychedelic or supernatural visual cues.”
Photos by Randy Cummings
Suor Angelica, a timeless one-act opera set in a 17th century Tuscan convent, ran from November 9 - 18, 2018 in Binghamton, New York. Cara Consilvio served us an "interactive banquet of delights" (Stage Director) while John Cockerill (Musical Director) "made the difficult orchestral reduction sound easy on the piano." Tri-Cities Opera presented this immersive theatrical experience at Trinity Memorial Church.
"The lighting design by Joshua Rose was very effective. The illumination of the side windows radiated a feeling of antiquity. As the sisters talk about the golden glow through the windows at this time of year, their white robes took on a golden hue. At the conclusion of the opera, the bright white light from the narthex was very dramatic." - S. Strichman, BCAC
Photo by Randy Cummings
A "lush, lovely, Butterfly" began the Tri-Cities Opera 2018-2019 season in high style, featuring Direction by Johnathon Pape, and Conducted with "mastery" by Andrew Altenbach. Broome County Arts Council's Sherri Strichman underscored, "From start to finish, this production was about color — voices, orchestra, set [AmarA*jk], lighting [Betsy Adams], costumes [Sandra Vest], makeup and hair [Shushu Vaughn]. Lovely, lovely." This intriguing staging of one of Puccini's greatest works brought the packed house at the Forum Theater to its feet on October 14, 2018.
The Evolution of Mann, a new musical directed by Joe Barros, runs at the cell theatre from October 4th to October 21st, 2018. The production highlights a “catwalk-style [stage] outfitted [with] amusing touches…,” a design by Libby Stadstad. Overhead, there’s a statement of “hanging clear-plastic sculptures… depicting city skylines...clever projections,” designed by Chris Steckel and Nathan Scheuer.
(David Barbour, Lighting & Sound America)
The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-Winning filmmaker behind GASLAND, Josh Fox & International WOW brought The Truth Has Changed to Performance Space New York on September 11th, 2018. The New York Times calls Fox "one of the most adventurous impresarios of the New York avant-garde." The audience of this sold-out performance experienced a one-night-only hybrid of theatre and film.